Retro, bold and magic makes a comeback in 2020, says Shutterstock

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Farzanah Farveen

16 January 2020

Be prepared to see lots of gold patterns, occult beliefs and floral visuals this year. Global technology company Shutterstock has launched its annual Creative Trends Report that identifies global and local trends which will influence design aesthetics and visual culture in 2020.

The three major creative trends include:

The Roaring 2020s

A century after the loud and lavish 1920s, the look that defined an era is back and on the centre stage globally in 2020. Searches for "gold pattern" are up 4223% year-over-year and ''20s retro" also saw an increase of 189% from the previous year. The coming year will include a retro twist, with ornate geometric shapes, elegant colour palettes, and art deco elements will be on the rise.

Occulture

Alternative faiths and age-old beliefs are seemingly of interest to Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, as renewed interest creep up in mainstream channels and on social media networks in particular. 'Occulture' includes astrology, alchemy, palmistry, and other spiritual pursuits, with motifs ranging from the cosmic to the demonic. Customers are searching for keywords such as "magic" and "spiritual" about 525% and 289% more respectively over last year.

In full bloom

Bidding goodbye to elegant arrangements and delicate displays, floral visuals of tomorrow are "big, bright and in full bloom". The 141% surge in searches for "flowerscape" and 136% uptick for "bloom" clearly makes this a vivid trend for the year ahead.

In addition to the three major trends, the report also outlined local favourites in 25 countries around the world, as well as, five rising trends that will potentially gain traction in 2020. Rising trends range from design mainstays such as "minimalistic black" and traditional arts including "Chinese ink painting" to elegant photography and modernised visuals such as "wild life" and sports photography.

According to eMarketer, growth in average daily time spent with video increased by 11% among users in 2018, making it the fastest-growing digital media activity. The increasing consumption of visual media challenges brands to keep up with sharing compelling visual content that engages target audience.

Lou Weiss, CMO at Shutterstock said this year's data points toward the pursuit of meaning, happiness, and opportunity in new creative projects which are traits that may be reflective of the uncertainty in the climate and the year ahead. "The analysis, which is grounded in data from billions of keyword searches made by marketers, social media managers, video producers and designers, provides a glimpse into the creative trends that we expect to engage consumers on a much bigger scale. It also serves as a source of inspiration for our customers and contributors as they develop creative projects in 2020," he added.

This comes shortly after Shutterstock revealed the top three dominating colours of 2020. Lush Lava, Aqua Menthe, and Phantom Blue are three shades that will tower over and showcase the trend towards maximalism and saturated hues, according to Shutterstock. From fashion to fine arts, 2020 is also said to see a shift from soft pastel colours to more sensational shades.